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Knowing how to follow a recipe and measure ingredients is an important step if you’re new to cooking or want to approve your cheffing skills.
Reading a recipe and measuring ingredients correctly saves time, helps avoid mistakes or surprises, and boosts your confidence in the kitchen! Follow these tips, and you won't get stuck halfway through making dinner.
This ensures you have all the key information needed including:
It also gives you a chance to ensure you understand all the instructions and the order in which you should take each step.
Make sure you really have all the ingredients and equipment called for in the recipe. For example, do you need a pot or a saucepan? Do you have all the ingredients in your kitchen, or is there something you’re missing?
It’s much easier to do this before you start cooking, as it saves time and will be very helpful in getting timings right.
First, make sure everything that needs to be washed, chopped, sliced, diced etc. is prepared and set aside.
Next, measure anything that needs to be measured. Accurate measurement ensures the right balance of ingredients, which is important for achieving the desired flavours, textures, and consistency.
For dry ingredients like flour, rice, or spices, use dry measuring cups and measuring spoons. If you don’t have measuring cups and spoons, just use a standard cup and spoon. For liquid ingredients, e.g. milk, water us a measuring jug on a flat surface, bend down, and check the amount at eye level to ensure accuracy.
Measuring terms most commonly found in recipes are:
Some older, less common terms that appear in recipes from time to time are:
Make sure you understand the words and phrases used in the recipe. Here are some of the most common terms you will encounter.
Cooking food (usually meat or onions) over medium to high heat until it develops a golden-brown colour. This adds flavour and improves texture.
Food (usually meat) is cooked at high heat for a short time to create a crispy, brown crust while keeping the inside juicy.
Meaning “to the tooth” in Italian, this is when pasta is cooked to just firm.
To work a dough, like pizza dough, with your hands by stretching, folding, and pushing. This is done to add strength and texture. Make sure to check out our recipe for Super Easy Pizza Dough!
To thicken a liquid or sauce by boiling, in order to enhance the flavour.
To quickly cook food in a small amount of fat (e.g. olive oil) over a relatively high heat, usually used for vegetables.
To cook in liquid that is just below boiling, with tiny bubbles are forming.
To quickly cook small pieces of food over a high heat, using a relatively small amount of oil and stirring constantly.
Take note of the order in which ingredients are added and steps are followed. This ensures that everything is cooked just right!
Feeling confident reading recipes? Visit our Recipes Hub and put your skills to the test!
